Leaked Supreme Court Draft Opinion Shows Plans to Overturn Roe v. Wade

On Tuesday, Politico published a 98-page initial draft majority opinion from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that protects abortion rights.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft from Alito, which is said to be from February, reportedly reads. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

It’s important to note that Roe v. Wade has yet to be officially overturned and that some justices could potentially change their votes in the future. If Roe v. Wade is actually overturned, abortion rights would no longer be protected on the federal level and would instead be decided by state governments. A final decision could be announced in one or two months, Politico reports. The leak is the first of its kind as early opinion drafts have never circulated publicly in the modern era before being finalized and published, according to The New York Times and other outlets.

Although the leaked draft didn’t include names outside of Alito’s, the justices that supported the opinion are reportedly the conservatives Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. On the flip side, Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan are said to be working on dissents. It is not clear how Chief Justice John Roberts will vote on the issue. The leaked opinion is in response to Dobbs v. Jackson, a case that is looking at if a 2018 Mississippi law that bans abortions at 15 weeks is constitutional.